


If Only for a Brief Time

by watermelonriddles



Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Holding Hands, Ruby is taking no shit, Soft Rio (Good Girls)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2020-01-24 01:24:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18561079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watermelonriddles/pseuds/watermelonriddles
Summary: Set almost immediately after 2x08  - Beth, Annie, and Ruby are spending the evening together and Rio picks the wrong time to show up to talk about business.





	If Only for a Brief Time

The quiet of the house is far too much for Beth so without her even needing to ask, Annie and Ruby decide to stay with her. They accumulate snacks and drinks and settle onto the couch just outside of the kitchen to watch some TV. They’ve already lined up hours and hours of shows and trashy movies. Annie and Ruby also have a list of safe topics that they’re armed to talk about in case Beth wants to avoid talking about the kids or Dean.

However, not even an hour into their night, they hear the sound of the back door opening and closing. Beth remains where she is, sat sideways at one of the couch, her legs stretched across the middle of it (they were originally draped over Ruby’s lap) and Annie is at the other of the couch, curled up. While Beth doesn’t even bother to look up, Annie does, anxiously waiting to see who is going to come walking through.

Ruby is in the living room, picking out another bottle of bourbon because the one they had only gave them just enough for one glass each and all three of them are sure that one glass is not enough. She abandons the bottle at the sound of the door and as she comes back through, Rio rounds the corner.

“What do you want?” Annie asks, sounding calm but not looking anymore at ease.

His eyes go straight to Beth. “Business.”

Annie blinks. “ _Now_?”

“Yes, now.” He glances around the room. “I don’t make house calls just for the fun of it.”

It’s Ruby that strikes first. She walks right up to him, standing between him and the couch. “Oh, hell no,” she snaps, grabbing Rio’s complete and utter attention. “Your ass doesn’t get to swan in here with your golden gun and with your hood half on, half off.” Rio raises a brow as a smile tugs at the corners of his mouth. “You like to talk about fifty, fifty, well read the God damn room,” Ruby waves her hands around, motioning to the general space around her, “and realise she ain’t fit to work and try earning your fifty percent for once by taking one for the team.”

Annie looks half scared, half amazed and the entire thing manages to finally capture Beth’s attention because she’s sitting up a little straighter and looking past Ruby to Rio, waiting to see how he’s going to react. The silence passes between them and Ruby doesn’t back down once. She gives him a look, challenging him to make the next move.

Rio runs a hand over his mouth in thought, his eyes still on Ruby. “You didn’t get your money back, huh?”

“Nope,” Beth says, settling back into her seat again and swirling what remains of the bourbon around her glass. “Pretty low on my list of priorities.”

“That so?” 

“He took my kids.”

For the first time, he looks away from Ruby and focuses his attention in the general direction of where Beth is. He can see her a little and he frowns. “Who took-” But then he pauses and listens out and it clicks. “ _Ah_.”

“Yeah.” She takes a sip. “ _Ah_.”

Smoothly skirting around Ruby, Rio heads over to where Beth is. He crouches down behind the couch, his arms folded and resting on the back of it. He places his head on his arms and watches her. She’s more focused on the glass in her hand.

“What you gonna do about it?”

“Something.” She swirls the contents of her glass. “Everything.” She finishes her drink. “I’ll do anything.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Rio says as he lifts his head and reaches over to squeeze her arm gently. “And don’t worry about the business, I’ll take care of it.”

Beth looks at him for the first time then. Since she realised Dean had taken the kids, it had been impossible to feel anything other than empty but now there was the slightest flutter in her chest. There’s something about his tone and the soft features of his face that tells her he’s being genuine.

“That’s the second time you’ve said you’ll take care of it.”

“Yeah, well,” he motions in the general direction of Ruby, “apparently you’ve got a bodyguard tonight and she ain’t about to take no shit.”

Ruby scoffs. “Damn right!” 

Beth laughs and she knows she probably shouldn’t but then she sees Rio smiling and although her laughing subsides, a smile of her own remains. It’s not better. It’ll never be better until she gets her kids back but the absurdity of it all makes it possible to not feel quite as empty,  even if only for a brief time .

“I can do it.” And even though Beth doesn’t know what it is, she tries to sound confident because he’s trying to throw her a bone and while she appreciates it, she doesn’t want to let him down.

“Nah, I got you.” Rio squeezes her arm again before his fingers lightly trace down to her free hand. As it turns over, he skims the tips of his fingers against the palm of her hand and she shivers. “You just get your house in order, yeah?”

Beth gives a slight nod and Rio gently threads his fingers between hers, holding her hand tightly. With his other hand on the back of the couch, he pushes himself up into a standing position. He looks at her, his eyes searching her face. With soft smiles shared between them, Rio begins to walk back towards the back door, only letting Beth’s hand go when he’s moved too far away to keep ahold of it.

“Have a nice night, ladies,” Rio says with one last look at Beth before he moves out of sight.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know what this is but Ruby going off on Rio and soft Brio just wouldn't leave me alone okay


End file.
